Determined Krohn Racing motivated for 6 Hours of Shanghai

All three drivers are motivated for a podium finish that has eluded the popular American team in this season’s WEC GTE-Am class.

The penultimate round of the eight-race 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship series is scheduled for the Shanghai Circuit in Shanghai, China, for the 6 Hours of Shanghai race on Saturday, November 9.

Krohn Racing owner/driver Tracy W. Krohn returns to the cockpit of the No. 57 Krohn Racing Ferrari F458 GTE-Am with co-drivers, Swede Nic Jönsson and Italian Maurizio Mediani. All three drivers have driven the 16 turn, 5.451 km/3.387 mile Shanghai circuit, although it will be Mediani’s first actual race here and the second time for both Krohn and Jönsson.

All three drivers are motivated for a podium finish that has eluded the popular American team in this season’s WEC GTE-Am class. Although the desired class championship for 2013 is out of reach, the team that captured five podiums, including one second place finish and four third place finishes in 2012, feels a podium finish is still within their grasp.

Practice and qualifying will take place on Friday, November 8 with the race start at 11:00 a.m. local time on Saturday, November 9.

TRACY W. KROHN, Krohn Racing Team Owner/Driver, No. 57 Krohn Racing Ferrari F458 GTE-Am:
You are headed back to Shanghai Circuit, where you ended the season last year with your fifth podium of the season, a third place finish. Are you happy to be returning to the Shanghai Circuit?
“I’m very happy to be returning to the Shanghai Circuit, which is a nice, top notch facility. It is a very technical track with long straightaways and long, sweeping corners with some banking and a fairly narrow track. Braking is important and it should be an interesting race, as it was last year.”

Shanghai Circuit is another proper F1 circuit at which the WEC races. What is it like competing at such a high level of racing and on amazing Formula One circuits like this one and at the other F1 you compete?
“All of the WEC circuits are world class. Some are newer and have more state-of-the-art facilities, like Austin and Bahrain, and others are real sports car classics like Spa and Sao Paulo. It is a good combination of old and new and I have really enjoyed racing at every one of them. They all provide exciting, solid racing for the fans and very challenging racing for the drivers, especially in the GT classes.”

NIC JONSSON, No. 57 Krohn Racing Ferrari 430 GTE-Am:
You are headed back to Shanghai Circuit, where you ended the season last year with your fifth podium of the season, a third place finish. Are you happy to be returning to the Shanghai Circuit?
“I’m definitely excited to go back to Shanghai and its fantastic facilities. The track is a world class facility with a F1 FIA grade A rating. It’s always fun to go back to a place where you have had success before and with a third place finish there in 2013 we are hungry and motivated to get on to the top of the podium this year.”

What is your favorite part of the circuit and what is the most challenging to you?
“You always get a great mixture of challenges and parts you like and dislike when you are fortunate to race on some of the most difficult and best circuits of the world. I think one of the challenges in Shanghai is to try to get the right compromise of downforce for the corners but not add too much to suffer on the long straights with speed. You can't run to much downforce because you will be too slow on the straights, but at the same time you can't run to little downforce either because this is going to really hurt you under hard braking and cornering entry to some of the corners where you carry a lot of speed entry of the corner and at the same time start braking with the car already loaded. So the high speed entry corners, I think, are the most challenging corners in Shanghai, where you can lose or gain a lot of lap time if you get the balance right on the car.”

The 2013 season has been a challenging one for Krohn Racing. In 2012 the team saw five podium finishes – one second place and four thirds – in 8 races. What has made 2013 more difficult?
“I believe the circumstance has been the biggest downfall for us this year. We are not really doing anything different from what we have done in the years past. We just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time lots of times this year. We have also had a little challenge to adapt to the new front bigger tire. It seem like the front tire has been a little too overpowering for the rear of the car so we have been fighting to get a good consistent balance of the car throughout the full race distance. But we keep working at it and the Krohn crew is working hard and are determined as ever to make sure we will get that ‘Mean Green Krohn Ferrari Machine’ back up on the podium in the last couple of races of the 2013 season.”

When driving, how challenging is 16 turns in just a 5.451 km/3.387 mile circuit?
“You don’t really think about it when you are in the car. You are obviously working harder so you have to make sure you are properly hydrated and take the opportunity to relax when you get on to the straights. All the Krohn drivers are all in good physical condition so I don’t see this being too big of a challenge for us.”

MAURIZIO MEDIANI, No. 57 Krohn Racing Ferrari F458 GTE-Am:
Have you ever raced at Shanghai Circuit before? If so tell us about your experiences. If not, tell us what you have heard about it.
“I never raced at Shanghai, but I did laps with the Ferrari 458 Challenge two years ago, while I was involved in the Ferrari program for APAC championship/instructor. The circuit will be very hard for front left tires because two corners are ‘spiral’ style after the starting straight and before the long back straight.”

How well suited is the layout of the 5.451 km (3.387 mile) Shanghai Circuit, with its long backstraight and hairpin turn, for the Ferrari 458?
“Normally we are good on the brakes. I hope to also find a good aero balance to be fast enough even in the long straight.”

Krohn Racing is more determined than ever to have a victory this season. Is there a way the team can do that?
“We absolutely want to close the season with a good result. I feel that we can and it is not important if we will race in the dry or wet, we have just to do it!!”

When driving, how challenging is 16 turns in just a 5.451 km/3.387 mile circuit?
“First we have to find a good set up, and after Fuji, I think we are not too far from the top. With a lot of corners, it means a lot of fun!”

MARK SCHOMANN, Krohn Racing Race Engineer:
Shanghai is the penultimate race of the 2013 season for the WEC, how do things look for Krohn Racing?
“I am very confident in a good finish for us in Shanghai. We were right on pace in Fuji with the other 458’s. The Astons and the Porsches had better qualifying times because they had soft tires and the Ferrari’s did not. Because of the temps that weekend it was a big advantage. If the ACO had followed their own rules about drive times and minimum race laps Krohn Racing would have finished second in Japan. It shows the progress we are making.”

How well suited is the layout of the 5.451 km (3.387 mile) Shanghai Circuit, with its long back straight and hairpin turn, for the Ferrari 458?
“Shanghai is a good track for the 458. The Astons have more power to pull out of the hairpin turn, but the rest of the circuit is good for us.”

The Krohn Racing team finished on the podium in third last year. How easy (or hard) is it to convert data from last year to be able to use it this year?
“We have made so many changes since last year not very much of the data is helpful, except the gearing, which will be close to the same.”